TOWELHEAD

"Abhorrent Disgusting Pedophilia"

What You Need To Know:

TOWELHEAD is the story of thirteen year old Jasira who is sent to live in Texas with her strict Lebanese father and attempts to understand her developing sexuality while her mother, step father, adult neighbor, classmates, and new boyfriend all take advantage of her in one way or the other. Neighbor Mr. Vuoso gives Jasira a pornographic magazine, and she learns to pleasure herself at home and even in the classroom. Jasira sees the women in the magazine as being an ideal that she wants to be like. Mr. Vuoso then molests her twice. Her new boyfriend Thomas shave her pubic region, pleasures himself in front of her and has sexual relations with her three times. The only hope is a neighboring couple who give her a place of refuge when things deteriorate completely.

While this is supposed to be a dark comedy, there is nothing funny about it. The negative content is depicted and often graphic. It would be disgusting to watch an adult go through this, but reprehensible to see an underage 13-year-old girl encounter all of this. Media-wise viewers should be completely outraged about this movie.

Content:

(HHH, AbAb, LL, V, SSS, NN, A, MMM) Very strong humanist worldview with strong anti-Christian elements where including Christian people are shown to be hypocritical and much immorality; 12 obscenities and eight profanities; father hits and slaps teenage daughter; much discussion of teenage girl’s developing sexuality, supporting teenage girl character says she wants to have sexual relations with her male teacher, girl pleasures herself onscreen multiple times, girl age 13 is molested by adult neighbor twice (once graphically), teenage boy pleasures himself while girl watches, couple in sexual scenes three times, boy shaves pubic region of girl though mostly off screen, stepfather shaves “bikini line” of girl off screen, reading of print pornography, much fondling over clothes of girl; much upper female nudity in magazine images and in fantasies, girl strips for adult man though framed and shot out of focus to not be as revealing as it could be; drinking of alcohol; no smoking or drugs; and, negative abusive father, verbally abusive and irresponsible mother, lying, racism, giving pornography to a minor.

More Detail:

TOWELHEAD is the story of 13-year-old Jasira who is sent to live in Texas with her strict Lebanese father and attempts to understand her developing sexuality while her mother, step father, adult neighbor, classmates, and new boyfriend all take advantage of her in one way or the other. The boyfriend of Jasira’s mom shave’s Jasira’s “bikini line” when girls at school make fun of her. Her mom blames Jasira instead of the stepfather and sends her away to live with her father, Rifat.

Set during the first Gulf War, Lebanese Rifat is angry that because he’s from the Middle East there’s an assumption that he’s both Muslim and a supporter of Sadaam Hussein. In fact, he’s Catholic and is upset that America isn’t bombing Iraq more often.

He has a short fuse and imposes his own ideals on his daughter. Jasira is the brunt of slapping and hitting by him when he’s angered. As Jasira goes through puberty, she struggles, with no help from him to understand herself.

Jasira’s Marine reservist neighbor, Mr. Vuoso, gives Jasira a pornographic magazine and she learns to pleasure herself at home, recess and even in the classroom. Jasira sees the women in the magazine as being an ideal to which she aspires. Mr. Vuoso then molests her twice. Her new boyfriend, Thomas, shaves her private region, pleasures himself before her and has sexual relations with her three times. The only hope is a neighboring couple who give her a place of refuge when things start to crumble.

The final scene is Jasira helping her neighbor deliver a baby. The movie seems to suggest that Jasira learns all the things that a woman’s body is designed to do.

While this is supposed to be a dark comedy, there’s really no fun to be had in it. The molestation, sex, self-pleasuring, and pornography are all depicted and often graphic. It would be disgusting to watch an adult go through this, but reprehensible to see an underage 13-year-old girl encounter all of these things.

While one scene of pedophile molestation occurs offscreen, the first one is very intensely graphic. The three bedroom scenes of the teenage couple are equally graphic. There is much discussion of sex. It is difficult to watch this movie.

Racism and ethnicity is a theme throughout the movie. Jasira is called “towelhead” at school and in the neighborhood. Rifat doesn’t want Jasira to see her boyfriend because he’s black. Mr. Vuoso doesn’t like Rifat because he’s an Arab. Rifat doesn’t like Vuoso because he’s a “redneck.” A kind woman in the restroom helping out Jasira assumes that she’s Latin and is upset that she doesn’t speak Spanish. All this is set against the first Gulf War in the news and discussion of the Middle East.

Religion plays a small role. The molesting neighbor is assumed to be a Christian because he’s a conservative American, though obviously doesn’t behave like one. Rifat has a statue of Mary and crosses himself when praying, but he takes God’s name in vain and is having sexual relations with his girlfriend.

Jasira herself is the victim, though in the end says she wants to continue to have sexual relations with her boyfriend. She has become very mixed up about sex and her own identity.

Media-wise viewers should be completely outraged about this movie. Warner Bros. should be ashamed!